


I Will Not Surrender Nor Will I Run Away

by Insecure_Vortex



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abuse, Adam Taurus Being an Asshole, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, F/F, Female Friendship, Jacques Schnee's A+ Parenting, Minor Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, POV Weiss Schnee, Past Blake Belladonna/Adam Taurus, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna are Abuse Survivors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insecure_Vortex/pseuds/Insecure_Vortex
Summary: Weiss and Blake have a much-needed talk after the events of Volume 6 while on their way to Atlas.





	I Will Not Surrender Nor Will I Run Away

“Are you going to be okay?”

Weiss blinked and looked away from the floating kingdom of Atlas. It was Blake who had spoken. Everyone else on the airship had fallen asleep, save for Maria, who was flying the thing. Yang’s head rested in Blake’s lap and Blake spoke softly so as not to disturb her. Weiss was glad that they had finally figured things out. Things were never going to be the same as before the Fall of Beacon, but Weiss would readily admit that she had been frustrated with how awkward these two had been since reuniting. Now it seemed like things had been mended. “Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

Blake’s ears were folded back. Was she scared? What was there to be scared of? Sad, Weiss decided. Blake was sad. Why? “Your father’s going to want you back, right?”

Oh. That’s why Blake was sad. She had managed to escape her abuser, but she didn’t think that Weiss had. Had she escaped? Or had she just put off the inevitable? Well, she’d die before going back, so her father had better be prepared to take back a corpse. “I’m not going back,” Weiss said, conviction ringing in her words.

“I know how you feel,” Blake murmured, her hands playing with Yang’s hair. Yang never let anyone touch her hair, but it seemed that Blake wasn’t categorized under “anyone” anymore. “When I left the White Fang, I didn’t want to look back. I swore I’d never be associated with Adam again.” She chuckled bitterly. “Look how well that turned out.”

“I’m sorry about what you had to do, but I can’t kill my father and make my problems disappear.”

“No,” Blake agreed. “But you shouldn’t run from them either. If there’s anything that I’ve learned, it’s that.”

Weiss frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you don’t have to face him alone. I had Yang with me and you’ll have all of us with you. Ruby was right, we’re not leaving your side for a second. And if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen. I know that I wanted someone to listen to me more than anything before Beacon.”

Weiss had never heard those words before, especially not from someone who had survived something similar to what she’d gone through. Winter never talked about herself and her own problems, her approach was to simply eradicate them, and if that wasn’t possible, simply ignoring them. Whitley suffered just as much at the hands of their father, but he was better at acting than she or Winter, his philosophy being, “if you can’t beat them, join them”. And Mother repeatedly turned to her vices (Weiss still felt nauseous whenever she smelled whiskey.) She knew her home life wasn’t normal, but no one had ever bothered to listen, not until she arrived at Beacon and gained a better family.

“Thank you,” Weiss whispered. “That…means a lot.” It meant more than a lot, more than Weiss could possibly express. But Blake seemed to understand that. She smiled and it didn’t feel condescending in the slightest.

“Try to get some sleep,” Blake said.

“You too.”

Blake frowned. “I’ll sleep later. I…I’m afraid that if I close my eyes, I’ll…”

“You’ll dream about Adam?”

Blake cringed. “I know it’s stupid, but I wish that I could have reasoned with him. Maybe I could have-” She cut herself off, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the idea. “No. I won’t let him control me like this, especially now he’s gone.”

“He really had his thumb on you, huh?” Weiss asked softly.

“It was hell,” Blake said. “Everything was my fault. When a raid went wrong, it’d be because I let someone get away or because I was too slow. He’d get angry and he’d yell at me, then he’d apologize and say he’d never do it again, which was a lie. He’d go through my Scroll without telling me, and then it’d be about how I didn’t trust him.”

“That is scarily accurate to my own experiences,” Weiss muttered. “Only my father never apologized. And why would he? I was the child, the arrogant brat who never thought of anything but herself. And-”

“And he knows what’s best for you,” Blake finished. “Funny, I never would have guessed that what’s best for me is complete isolation from my friends and family and total reliance on my partner, a partner, might I add, that made me feel like I was nothing.”

Weiss laughed ruefully. “We’re really messed up, aren’t we?”

“It gets better,” Blake told her. “Adam made me feel like I was nothing, and I didn’t even realize how bad it was until I met someone who made me feel like I was everything.” She looked down at Yang, who mumbled something incoherent in her sleep and Blake’s amber gaze softened in a way that Weiss had only seen from people who were irrevocably, sickeningly in love. It was a look that neither of her parents had for each other. It made Weiss feel warmer somehow, lighter even. She realized that Blake was right.

It would get better. Things had already gotten better. She would heal.

**Author's Note:**

> It does get better. If you or someone you know is struggling with abuse, tell someone. Get away from that person as soon as you can. Cut them permanently out of your life if you have to. You don't owe them anything.
> 
> On a less serious note, thank you for reading! After Volume 6, I felt I had to write something. I didn't see anyone talking about Blake and Weiss' shared experiences with abuse, so I chose to write about that. I hope I did so in a respectful manner. Adam made his choice and he got what he deserved, and I'm excited to see what will become of Jacques. And the Bumblebee development this season has been amazing. This has been, in my opinion, the best Volume since Volume 3. Tell me what you thought about it in the comments below, I'd bee happy to see your opinions, my lovely gremlins!


End file.
